Risty
Risty Cooper has a heart as big as her hair, and she is virtually impossible to hate. Her skills at socializing and ease in physical challenges make The Athlete an enormous threat in the competition. Biography Risty is as well-rounded as it gets, being skilled in socializing, athletics, and hair care. This Boston native lives with her single mother, who works all day to support Risty and her twin brother Reid. Instead of hiring a babysitter, Risty’s mother just sent the twins’ Uncle Rico to watch them all day. Uncle Rico was a sports fanatic and tried to teach Reid everything from baseball to hockey in the street in front of their apartment building, while Risty watched from the curb and laughed her butt off at her brother’s failure. When Risty took Reid’s place after he broke his nose for the second time, she discovered that she had picked up most of the necessary skills just from watching her brother practice. When she discovered her natural athletic talent, Risty quickly tried out for all of her school’s sports teams, easily earning a place on each one. The outgoing girl found friends on every team she joined, giving her a large, diverse group of acquaintances with completely unique backgrounds and personalities. Risty can get extremely competitive, but her friendliness and humor make up for her urge to win. She knows she has talent, but she tries not to let it get to her head, preferring a new friend over a varsity letter any day. Risty wants to win Total Drama Island: For Your Entertainment and give most of the prize money to her mother, eliminating the need for her to work long hours to support her family. The rest of the money would be personal spending money, because who hasn’t dreamed of going on a shopping spree with their best friends? During For Your Entertainment... Risty was the second contestant to arrive in ...Fifteen Minutes of Fame, which meant that she was unfortunately the first to have to deal with Gabe. She was annoyed by the rich boy generalizing the other players as "losers," although she was too nice to do something drastic. Risty attempted to advise Camille and commented on Elena's rudeness. During Risty's interview with Opal Winfrey, the talk show host was enamored with the athlete's hair, using it to advertize a brand of shampoo. By the time Risty tried to talk about herself, the time was over, though that meant she had earned a point for her team. Risty and her roommate Minerva volunteered to make breakfast the morning of The Bachelor Isn't Interested. Risty questioned why Zack had such a mischievous grin when he entered the cafeteria, and he traded her a set of screws for extra bacon. She figured out that he was the one who'd pranked Elena that morning, approving of the joke. Risty hit the target with her arrow in the first part of the challenge, earning The Emmys a chance to impress Chris, though she didn't volunteer to use this attempt. Instead, Risty and Zack played makeshift instruments to give a dramatic atmosphere to Elena's reading of Victor's poem. Risty and Zack used one of Zack's inventions to prank Elena and Gabe in Video Killed the Reality Star. When the partners in crime were caught, Elena and Gabe migrated upstairs, and Risty and Zack followed to continue harrassing them. In the challenge, Risty volunteered for the backstage duties for The Emmys' music video. Zack asked her to help him plot scenes, and Risty defended her friend when Elena criticized his leadership. Zack was in awe after Risty painted the bedroom set, and they joked around until Ophelia arrived to show them her costume. The curly-haired girl sent Ophelia over to Victor to avoid making fun of her to her face. After Risty witnessed Minerva's meltdown, the athlete followed her roommate to get the real story, as she could tell that Elena and Gabe had manipulated her. Risty listened patiently as Minerva revealed that Elena had threatened to vote her off because she was a lesbian. The athlete reassured the loudmouth that Zack's video would earn them the challenge win, so she would have time to explain the situation. Later, Risty watched Zack edit The Emmys' video, amazed by the final result. She left to retrieve their teammates, which was when the video went missing. When The Emmys lost the challenge by default, Risty sat in the stairwell, conflicted because she would have to vote for Zack or Minerva that night. Gabe tried to convince her to vote for Minerva, saying it would save her the guilt of voting her closest friend off. Despite this, Risty voted for Zack that night and was too ashamed to look at him when he left. In Safest Catch, Minerva found Risty sulking in their room, which she had been doing for the two days since Zack had left. Minerva asked why she voted for Zack if she knew she'd feel guilty, and the athlete explained that she would have felt worse voting for Mineva but would never cast a wasted vote. Minerva mentioned she thought Zack had a crush on Risty, which the jock denied. Minerva distracted Risty from her guilt by asking about the other guys as potential love interests, though the athlete denied every one of them. The next morning, Risty and Minerva found Wes and Donna asleep in the cafeteria. They woke them up, and the musician and smart aleck revealed that Victor's snoring was so loud that they couldn't sleep in their rooms. In the challenge, Risty was reluctant to help Gabe back onto the boat, though he convinced her to pull him up when he admitted that Elena was unaware that he had advised her to vote off Minerva for her own sake. When she questioned his motives, he claimed to be more than his stereotype and gave her a heads up that Elena was targeting her. Risty stepped between Gabe and Elena when they argued during practice in Sing Your Heart Out. When Wes's voice was sabotaged by The Oscars, the athlete wanted to sue the other team if he was hurt. When Minerva gave Wes a bell, Risty explained that it was for him to communicate, which she thought was humiliating. When Elena and Gabe bickered again, Risty and Monique made snide commentary, though they shut up when Gabe shouted something particularly nasty. Risty tried to block the audience's view of the resumed fight during the performance, but when the feuding rich kids knocked her over she intervened. The jock emerged from the fight unscathed. When Camille's true motive was unveiled, Risty immediately made the connection that the jewel thief had sabotaged Zack. She voted for Elena at the Team's Choice Awards that night. Risty chaperoned when Minerva asked Gabe for an interview in We All Fall Down. The athlete pushed them to talk to each other and explained Minerva's blog to Gabe when he was confused. Risty competed against Monique and Irina in the first round of the challenge, easily beating them. Risty was confused as to what some of the obstacles in the second round were, but she gracefully finished it. She outlasted Sebastian, Victor, and Paul in the final round. When Isaac realized he couldn't beat Risty in the challenge, he taunted Elena until she threw a ball, knocking her into the water. At the elimination that night, Risty was embarrassed over her loss but was called safe first nonetheless. When The Emmys wouldn't listen to Sebastian in Fire Insults at Will, Risty got their attention. After he explained his strategy, only Risty, Elena, and Minerva remained. The athlete said she liked his plan, and Sebastian seemed grateful in the confessional that she had stayed. Risty and Sebastian snuck through the woods and tried to eliminate their competition, though Elena kept blowing their cover. Despite the socialite letting many of their targets get away, they managed to eliminate Angel, Allison, and Avery. When she heard Elena taunting Minerva, Risty switched places with the socialite, sending her up to walk with Sebastian while she told Minerva to ignore anything she had said. When Minerva and Elena were eventually shot, Risty and Sebastian traveled the forest in silence. Risty remarked in the confessional that her competitive nature made not knowing how many players were still in the woods exciting. In the end, it was only Risty and Sebastian left against Paul and Irina. Paul and Risty eliminated each other, the ahtlete upset that she was eliminated right before claiming victory once again. She received the second silver star at the elimination that night. In Teeth, Risty made breakfast again, accompanied by Monique this time. The jock was assigned to be a member of the prey in the supernatural challenge. When Angel was the vampire assigned to her room, Risty said she wanted a fair physical fight. The pyromaniac ended up beating her, which was a huge accomplishment since she was "one of the strongest players in the game." Risty made it without getting caught by a werewolf for most of the second half of the challenge, though she was eventually caught at a dead end by Cara. Risty joined Minerva for an all-night vlog entry in their room in Flashing Lights. When Minerva interviewed Wes, Risty said she was amazed at how fast he was in the last challenge. Monique teased her about being caught by Cara, and Risty threw food at her and mocked her "hormonal teenagers" rant. The athlete asked Wes about Sebastian and confirmed that the gambler had told her that he hates Wes. The interview was interrupted by Ophelia screaming about Victor's elimination, and Risty was the only one with enough courage to answer the door. When she found Donna on the other side, the athlete asked if she was okay and invited her to join the blog. The next morning, Risty brought cereal to Ophelia, who had locked herself in her room overnight. She sat in the hall and told the artist she was willing to talk, teasing Donna when she saw her leaving Wes's room. Risty explained through Ophelia's door that she had an instant connection with Zack and blamed herself for his elimination in an attempt to relate. She said she didn't think Ophelia was crazy, and the artist let her come in. On the red carpet, Risty and Sebastian did interviews together. When Donna tried to help Ophelia when she broke down, the artist screamed for Risty. Risty tried to help the artist calm down, commenting in the confessional that Victor's elimination had sent Ophelia completely over the edge. The artist wouldn't go to the press conference, and Risty said their team would lose without them and somebody would have to be voted off. When Ophelia blamed herself for Victor's elimination, Risty said she sounded like she did when Zack was eliminated. The athlete encouraged her to be strong for Victor, eventually pulling her out of the slump. Risty got Sebastian to switch seats with Ophelia in the press conference so she could stay nearby for support. When Zack's picture appeared in the Losers' Round, Risty said he was wonderful and that he shouldn't have been eliminated. The athlete then teased Monique about wanting some action when she was disgusted at Isaac and Cara's making out. In Thirteen, Ophelia thanked Risty for her help in the last challenge, and the athlete said that her feeling better was all that she needed in return. Sebastian commented on the cheesiness of the statement, and Risty said in the confessional that he was being very shady. Minerva later found Risty playing cards with Sebastian, who she claimed was cheating. When furious Monique entered, the athlete dragged Minerva out of the room. Risty tried calming Minerva down when the power went out. She tried but failed to save the loudmouth when she was pulled underground by zombies, and she dragged Monique behind her when she and Wes saw the approaching horde. Risty and Wes disagreed on where to go, but when Monique was bit by an undead Zack, Risty demanded that she and Wes continue moving before she could be distracted. Risty and Wes found Donna, and the athlete tried to leave when her teammates had a moment. Wes wanted to head to Major City, but Risty decided instead to find the relic. She was on her own before running into Sebastian, Irina, and Paul. Risty explained that she had seen Minerva and Monique die, though Sebastian doubted they were actually dead because she hadn't seen their corpses. When Risty and Sebastian were surrounded in zombies, she was frozen in place because Minerva was undead. Risty began whimpering apologies at her, and Sebastian had to pull her out of the circle. Risty fell while running but encouraged them to go on without her. When she was surrounded in a group of the undead including Monique, she noticed that the designer was wearing a different outfit than what she died in, exposing that the zombies were fake. When the contestants were forced to switch rooms in All I Want is Revenge, Risty, Monique, and Minerva had to decide who would room with Allison. When Monique tried to claim the room, Risty told her they had to choose fairly, though when Allison started humming creepily she settled on the childish game of "Nose Goes." Risty and Monique touched their noses first and became roommates. The next day, Risty and Sebstian discovered the high school set. The athlete played a game of soccer with some of the other contestants, and she, Wes, and Minerva were losing when Chris called for a challenge. Risty's twin brother Reid was her guest for the challenge, and when he fell out of his locker whining about his asthma, Risty revealed that he didn't have asthma. In the confessional, she said she was doomed if they were paired up for the challenge, as Reid was pathetic at physical activity. In the first part of the challenge, Risty fell for Sebastian's trick to make it seem like Donna was doing well in the challenge. Risty was cocky when Monique showed up, though her go-kart spit out a black cloud as she left. Risty made it past the first round, and she told Sebastian that she felt bad for the players whose secrets were revealed. Sebastian said they all deserved it for losing, but Risty didn't believe him, saying that he pretended not to care to keep up his image. Sebastian mocked her for always trying to be a savior, and she said it was just because she was his friend. In the second half of the challenge, Risty found Reid quickly in the labyrinth, though he had somehow chained himself to a locker. The siblings traded insults as she tried to break his handcuffs, amusing a passing Isaac. When she lost the challenge, Reid revealed that Risty used to be a cheerleader and showed pictures, embarrassing the athlete. Monique apologized to Risty before choosing Minerva to accompany her on her reward retreat, which the athlete wasn't bothered by. Before the elimination, Risty tried to convince all of the former Emmys to vote together against Allison, because Monique and Minerva's absence removed their voting majority. This plan worked out, though The Oscars voted together as well, leaving it a tie between Risty and Allison for the most votes. They were forced to compete in a tiebreaker: escape being buried alive. Allison escaped her coffin first, eliminating Risty. Chris had the other contestants leave before the athlete could dig herself out, and Risty screamed when she was left underground. In Wolf in Teen's Clothing, Sebastian returned to his room after midnight covered in dirt, and Wes realized that the gambler had checked to make sure that Risty's coffin had been dug up. The next day, Monique and Minerva returned from their cruise and searched for the athlete, unaware that she had been eliminated the previous day. The girls were both upset when Wes broke the news to them. Audition Tape The camera turned on to show a group of teenagers warming up for a soccer game. Most of the team stood in a line in front of the goal, waiting for their chance to kick the ball in for a point. The goalie, a tall, slim girl with a huge head of natural hair, wasn’t allowing a single ball to pass by her, stopping the shots with lightning fast reflexes. Seeing that the goalie was unstoppable, the coach split the line of players in half and threw another ball to them, having them kick two balls at the goal at once. Still, the girl in goal stopped each shot, much to her teammates’ annoyance. “Take five, Risty!” The coach called out. The goalie ran towards where the camera was set up on the bench and picked up a water bottle. She took a few sips of the beverage, though she wasn’t even sweating from the effort. “Pretty cool, huh?” She said to the camera, a hint of a Bostonian accent in her voice. “I’m Risty Cooper, and I think TDI is where I belong. I’m a big fan of the show, despite the vaguely homicidal nature of the challenges, and I think you guys could really use some representation from the decent athletes out there … no offense to Tyler, of course.” Risty took a minute to shake out her hair, though it retained its fluffy shape. “I think I have all the attributes necessary for an elimination game: I’m competitive, I’m driven, I’m confident, and I’m friendly, so I could do great both in and out of challenges. I’m not some fame seeker who only wants to go on the show to get famous. I’m just looking for a good time and to hopefully get some money for my mom. Love you, Mom!” As Risty made a heart shape with her hands, a player behind her accidentally kicked a ball in her direction. Risty ducked out of the way just in time, but it ended up smashing into the camera, knocking it from its perch. The camera landed on its side in the grass, the image going a bit fuzzy. Risty knelt down in front of it with a frantic look on her face. “Watch where you’re kicking that! This thing is expensive!” She yelled over her shoulder, before muttering, “Not to mention I borrowed it from my friend in the AV Club.” Risty gave the camera one last smile before shutting it off. Trivia *Risty was the eleventh contestant eliminated and the second after the merge. She received five silver stars. *Risty speaks with a Boston accent. She is one of the few characters to speak with an accent, the others being Josh, Avery, and Irina. *Risty's name was original Risty Copper rather than Cooper. Many typos later, it was easier just to change her last name to Cooper to prevent changing it constantly. *Risty's Uncle Rico is a reference to the character of the same name from Napoleon Dynamite. *Risty's less successful brother was originally going to be Eric. This was changed after deciding not to have any family members compete. Their characters do have similarities though. *Risty has gone through several skin color changes since her original design. At first this was just to vary her skin tone from Monique and Eric, though it kept changing as an aesthetic choice. **In addition, her hair just got bigger with each redesign, something that was completely intentional. *Risty's outfits were some of my favorites to design, mostly because I liked playing with the simple designs of sports uniforms while still making them seem cohesive. *Risty's school team color changed from blue to red. This was both to fit with her new color scheme and because Robert's school team is also blue. *Had Risty not befriended Sebastian, there is a good chance that she would have been eliminated earlier in the competition for the exact same reason she was eliminated: her physical and social skills meant that she had the highest potential to succeed in the game. However, her friendship with Sebastian made it so that he never would have even thought of targeting her. *Risty came in 12th place, which had been hinted at all along because she actually wears the number 12 on the jersey in her alternate outfit. *Despite being featured in the first few episodes of the show, Risty eventually becomes more of a supporting character if only for the fact that she interacts with so many contestants. Rather than being able to focus on one or two of her interactions specifically, Risty is spread thin across many different characters. **However, if Zack hadn't been eliminated so early, that friendship would have taken a significant role, pushing Risty up to a main character position again. *Out of the three jocks this season, Risty is the only female. She also ends up being the only one not eliminated within the first four episodes, making it to the merge. *Risty was the only contestant to be eliminated in a tiebreaker challenge. Though there were several unorthodox eliminations this season, Risty's has always been planned as a tiebreaker against Allison. This was done because there is no way at that time in the competition that the former Oscars could get a majority vote and none of The Emmys would have any reason to vote against her. Instead of having her eliminated on a technicality like Angel, I figured Risty deserved to go down fighting. Gallery Risty- Alternate Outfit.png|Alternate Outfit Risty- Pajamas.png|Sleepwear Risty- Swimwear.png|Swimwear Risty- Flashing Lights.png|Red carpet outfit for Flashing Lights ﻿ Category:Emmys Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Contestants